Vestas Sailrocket 2 (Photo by Mark Lloyd)
The SailRocket Team today launches its second-generation speed sailing boat from East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Vestas SailRocket 2 is designed to be significantly faster than its predecessor, with the ultimate aim of breaking the ‘Outright World Speed Sailing Record’.
Immediately after today’s launch the team will prepare the new boat for shipping to Walvis Bay, Namibia, where sailing record attempts will begin in April.
During the last 15 months, the Sailrocket team has been focused on building a better, safer and –above all – faster boat in Vestas Technology R&D’s facilities on the Isle of Wight. Now Vestas Sailrocket 2 will be launched to the public for the first time.
“Since we started pursuing the Outright World Speed Sailing Record 9 years ago, the record has been raised by exactly 9 knots. The current record holders, the kite surfers, have taken it out of the reach of all the previous contenders and it is going to take a very special boat to get it back. Vestas Sailrocket 2 is a boat that aims high. The only satisfactory outcome for us is the outright record,” Paul Larsen, pilot and project leader from the Sailrocket 2 team says.
Paul Larsen In Sailrocket as she is Launched (Photo by Mark Lloyd)
With the record raised to the current level, the ambitious team behind Sailrocket is even more eager to develop a boat to break the Outright World Speed Sailing Record. In order to do that, conventional design has been left behind and everything is pushed to the limit.
“Many lessons have been learned since the first Sailrocket was launched in 2004. The first boat shows the scars of the many learning processes we have been through over the years. In the end it performed as predicted; although she briefly emerged as the fastest boat in the world, she never achieved the Outright record title. The record was like a mirage: as we got faster, so did the record,” Paul Larsen says.
Sailrocket Launch (Photo by Mark Lloyd)
Malcolm Barnsley and Paul Larsen and Sailrocket 1 (Photo courtesy of Vestas Sailrocket)
The Sailrocket team launches its second-generation speed sailing boat from the Isle of Wight on 8 March, 2011. Vestas Sailrocket 2 is designed to be significantly faster than its predecessor, with the ultimate aim of breaking the ‘Outright World Speed Sailing Record’.
During the last 15 months, the Sailrocket team has been focused on building a better, safer and –above all – faster boat in Vestas Technology R&D’s facilities on the Isle of Wight. Now Vestas Sailrocket 2 will be launched to the public for the first time.
“Since we started pursuing the Outright World Speed Sailing Record 9 years ago, the record has been raised by exactly 9 knots. The current record holders, the kite surfers, have taken it out of the reach of all the previous contenders and it is going to take a very special boat to get it back. Vestas Sailrocket 2 is a boat that aims high. The only satisfactory outcome for us is the outright record,” Paul Larsen, pilot and project leader from the Sailrocket 2 team says.
With the record raised to the current level, the ambitious team behind Sailrocket is even more eager to develop a boat to break the Outright World Speed Sailing Record. In order to do that, conventional design has been left behind and everything is pushed to the limit.
“Many lessons have been learned since the first Sailrocket was launched in 2004. The first boat shows the scars of the many learning processes we have been through over the years. In the end it performed as predicted; although she briefly emerged as the fastest boat in the world, she never achieved the Outright record title. The record was like a mirage: as we got faster, so did the record,” Paul Larsen says.
“We learnt a lot with the first boat. The recent performance of the kite surfers vindicated our decision to build a new boat. I’m confident that Sailrocket 2 has the potential to take the record to new levels.”
Main Sailrocket sponsor Finn Strøm Madsen, President of Vestas Technology R&D, emphasises the Sailrocket team’s efforts in bringing knowledge about wind, design and sailing together in order to be the fastest in the world.
“Vestas has a deep interest in the Sailrocket project. By using innovation and technological breakthroughs you can harvest the power of wind with ever-improving efficiency. That is the key for both Vestas and Sailrocket. I look forward to seeing the new Vestas Sailrocket 2 push the boundaries of wind driven performance in the search of speed,” says Finn Strøm Madsen.
Launch details
Vestas Sailrocket 2 will be launched on 8 March at Venture Quays, in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Both Sailrocket boats will be shown to the public. For more information, please contact Paul Larsen, pilot and project Leader. Tel: +44 (0)79 4684 1929. E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com.
About Vestas Sailrocket
Vestas Sailrocket 2 is a speed sailing boat based on a unique, stabilising concept. Vestas Sailrocket has continuously pushed the limits for speed sailing and currently holds the B class world record for speed sailing. The sail and keel elements are positioned so that there is virtually no overturning moment and no net vertical lift. As a result, the only significant response to wind gusts is a change in speed.
For Paul Larsen and Malcolm Barnsley, design team member from Vestas, the Vestas Sailrocket 2 project is a realisation of their ultimate dream to design and sail the fastest boat on the planet.
Read more about Vestas Sailrocket at www.sailrocket.com.
About the ‘Outright world speed sailing record’
The Outright world speed sailing record is set by taking the average speed of a craft between two points set 500 meters apart. All records are observed and ratified by the sport’s governing body, the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC). It is open to all water borne sailing crafts from kite surfers to maxi multihulls.
In late October 2010, American Kite surfer Rob Douglas set the current record in Luderitz, Namibia with a speed of at 55.65 knots (64 mph, 104 kmh). In a month-long session the kite surfers took the record off the mighty French hydro-foiler Hydroptere and raised the record by over 4 knots. They are expected to go faster still in the coming year.
Steve Clark’s Aethon will be among seven speed machines competing at the Little America’s Cup later this month.
Steve Clark has been dreaming of winning back the Little America’s Cup for the USA ever since he lost it to Canada in 2007. In 1996, Clark’s 25- foot C-Class Catamaran Cogito (pronounced with a soft g) had blown away designers and engineers with its mammoth wing sail and unmatchable speed, and with helmsman Duncan MacLane and crew Erich Chase it handily defeated Australia’s defender Edge IV on Port Phillip Bay to win the International C-Class Catamaran Championship, fondly referred to as the Little America’s Cup. Cogito became and remained the gold standard of C-Class Catamarans for the next eleven years, a place in C-Class cat history to which Clark wishes to return by entering his new boat, Aethon, launched earlier this year, in the 2010 Little America’s Cup, set for August 22-28 off Newport.
Clark’s goals for this Cup are oddly reminiscent of what they were for the 1996 event. Clark’s first experience in the C-Class had been in 1985 when he was involved in Patient Lady VI’s unsuccessful defense of the Cup, losing to Australia’s Victoria 150. It was largely this defeat that drove Clark to develop Cogito. Now, his “Cogito Project” is back where it started: testing a new boat and taking aim at winning the Cup back again.
The 2010 Little America’s Cup, to be headquartered at the New York Yacht Club’s on-the-water clubhouse Harbour Court, will host a total of four countries (US, Canada, England, France) and seven boats, including Alpha, the boat with which, in 2007, Canadian Fred Eaton wrested the Cup from Clark. Clark will skipper Aethon with crew Oliver Moore (Marion Mass.), while his second U.S. entry Cogito—yes, the same Cogito that held on to the Cup for 11 years—will be sailed by A-Class North American Champion Lars Guck and bronze medalist Andrew Gaynor (both Bristol, R.I.).
According to Clark, Cogito, still very much a competitive boat and sailed by a crack crew, has every bit as much chance at winning as any of the C-class cats, but it is Aethon that now has Clark’s heart and limitless energy behind it. ”The plan was always to wait and build a new boat only when the old one had been beaten, but I’ve really been wanting to build Aethon for ten years” said Clark, noting that the two boats have been trial-testing in Bristol all spring and summer.
To say that a C-Class catamaran is an amazing boat is an understatement. “Everything about the C-Class is extraordinary” said Clark. “Just getting a boat to the regatta and competing is a significant achievement.” There are few design restrictions on the class beyond length (25 feet), beam (14 feet) and sail area (300 square feet), and there is no weight minimum. The sail plans (hard wing sails) and blades are so efficient that once the C-Cats fly a hull, they can sail through patches of almost no wind at all by simply using their own apparent wind.
Seven of the fastest boats in the world, on the same course, at the same time—that’s how the Little America’s Cup will start off. Then, after nine fleet races, pairs for match racing will be established and a winner will eventually be determined.
But if the Americans want to win the Cup they have to first get by the Canadians. Since winning the Cup with Alpha, Fred Eaton’s team has not been idle, producing Orion in 2008 and Canaan in 2010. They expect to bring all three boats to the starting line on the 22nd with Eaton and Magnus Clarke aboard Canaan and BMW-Oracle skipper James Spithill and A-Class world champion Glen Ashby slated to sail Alpha. Pending major wing repairs, Rob Paterson and an as-yet-unnamed helmsman should sail Orion .
England’s “Team Invictus” will be returning to the C-Class circuit after an unsuccessful first challenge in 2004 with Invictus I. The English, led by Norman Wijker, now have Invictus II, which features a new wing and a more polished program overall. Paul Larsen of Sail Rocket will take the helm of Invictus II while Gordon Kaiser remains as crew.
Representing continental Europe will be Antoine Koch and Jean Baptiste Levaillant of France. The French have chartered 1985 Cup defender and 2004 silver medalist Patient Lady VI from the Canadians and will be at the event primarily to get their feet wet as they plan a future campaign.
Seven boats and four nations mark the most competitors and countries at a C-Class event in more than two decades. Winning the America’s Cup for the USA–it’s a tall order but one that is familiar to Steve Clark
Cornwall Playing For Success Finishing Previous Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race (Photo by Jason Phillips)
This year’s Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race is going to be a real family affair as four father and son teams have signed up to take part in the epic adventure which happens every 4 years.
The number of entrants for this year’s race is the biggest for over twenty years with a line-up of 57 boats including six multihulls. The entry list will be closed at 60 or the boats will not fit into some of the harbours which are a feature of this classic event. The race starts in just over three months on June 6th from Plymouth Sound
There are prizes for all classes as well as a special one, the Hasler Trophy, for the first family crew to reach Plymouth on corrected time. The father and son teams are:
William and Ned Mumford who will be sailing Flair 11, an MG 335. William is a regular contender in the Shetland Round Britain and Ireland, having taken part three times. He is the MD of Plymouth motor dealership Mumfords. Ned is a student who has been watching his father sail away since he was very small.
Civil airline pilots, mountaineers and sport sailors, Tony and Sam White will be sailing Comedy of Errors, a HOD 35.
Summerbird, a Warrior 40, will be sailed by David and Sebastian Southwood. David is a retired City Chairman and Race Director of OSTAR 2009 and his son Sebastian a deep sea diver turned construction manager.
Suroma, a Starlight 35, will be sailed by Bill and Robin Graham. Bill is a retired jumbo jet captain, and Robin a man of many talents: pharmacologist, lawyer, and now a civil airline pilot.
“The Hasler Trophy will provide an interesting race within a race,” said Peter Taylor, race director of Shetland Round Britain and Ireland 2010. “It will see these four father and son teams racing against each other and of course only one boat can win. Already, excitement is mounting in many boatyards all over the UK as keen two-handers prepare their boats. A few have already launched and two have completed their qualifying cruises since Christmas.”
Douglas Irvine, business development manager for Shetland Islands Council, commented: “We are thrilled that there are four father and son teams taking part in this year’s race. With their own trophy to race for we should be guaranteed an exhilarating event all round. “
“Lerwick is our largest and most popular yachting port, surrounded by shops and restaurants. We will ensure every sailor receives a warm welcome as they berth. It is a tough race and I am sure they will welcome the break as they reach the half way point.”
Paul Larsen on Vestas Sailrocket (Photo courtesy of Sailrocket.com)
Here is Paul Larsen speaking about yesterday. “We went out to speed-spot as it was our final day of this two month record period as we didn’t want to miss any opportunity. I knew the odds for setting records were against us. Strong winds weren’t forecast but we had to leave no stone unturned.There was another element. For all I know now, these might be the last runs that this boat does on this course. Now of course nothing is for certain. If the best way forward for us is to push on here with this boat then we WILL, as a team, make it happen… but that is to be decided later with all relevant parties present. For us down here at the coal-face… yesterday was a chance to just go out, give it a good bash… and enjoy the wonderful boat which we have nurtured into becoming one of the fastest sailing craft on the planet. Seeing as this month will see in the 100th birthday for Bernard Smith, the conceptual father of our wonderful boat, I was keen to post our 100th run as a sort of homage. We had done 98 runs down this gorgeous course and I was also determined not to do a ‘Bradman’. For those of you not familiar with Donald Bradman, he was a legendary Australian cricket player who was a wizard batsman throughout the Depression (the other one) and on to 1948. On his last appearance he only needed to score 4 runs to record a career average of 100 runs… nearly twice that of any rival batsman. He received a huge and extended ovation as he took the field which left him quite emotional. On only his second ball he was bowled out for a ‘duck’ (no runs). The great man left the game with a career average of 99.94 runs. Later in the change rooms as he took of his cricket pads he was left to remark ‘Gee Whiz, fancy doing that’. Even if we didn’t get good conditions I was keen to post 100 runs of our own.So as we wheeled VESTAS SAILROCKET out of her soft hangar I reflected on all the other times we had done just this, all the people that have helped us and all the dreams and aspirations that had gone with each appearance. I took note of all the modifications and repairs and what they represented. The trip across the lagoon entrance to speed-spot was pretty quiet. So speed-spot was in fine form as the wind gusted up to 20 knots. The sun was shining and a mist of sand was blowing across the beach at just the right angle. I knew it wasn’t strong enough for records but decided to have one more shot at the mile just in case we got lucky. It would give me more time to enjoy the boat as well.
Paul Larsen and Vestas Sailrocket Team (Photo courtesy of Sailrocket.com)
Paul Larsen and Vestas Sailrocket Team (Photo courtesy of Sailrocket.com)
I made an effort to explain all aspects of the run to the onboard camera throughout the run. The run went perfectly considering the mild conditions. We hit a peak of 44.65 knots, did 41.12 over the 500 meter course and only 39.12 knots over the mile. VESTAS SAILROCKET was just cruising effortlessly along seemingly enjoying the run as much as I was. I could have reached out and touched the finishing buoy if I wanted but stood off just a bit (remember Bradman Larso). It was extremely shallow and I must have been clearing the bottom by mere cm’s past thethe finish line. So that was run 99 done.
Sailrocket In Namibia (Photo Courtesy of Paul Larsen / Vestas Sailrocket)
Paul speaks from Walvis Bay, Namibia on his record attempt this week that resulted in the boat crashing and Paul being taken to a hospital for treatment.
” Hi all… one slightly beaten up Sailrocket jockey here.
Firstly, thanks to all those near and far who have sent their regards. It’s always appreciated.
Obviously the last couple of days have been pretty strange from my perspective. One moment I’m going 47+ knots with the glorious Walvis Bay ‘speed-spot’ stretched out before me and ready for the taking… the next I’m on a hospital Gurney sort of aware that I’m asking the same question over and over… “what happened”?
I won’t go into too much detail here until we are certain of all the factors. I went straight back to the container once out of hospital and had a look at all the onboard and shore footage of the incident. It appears that a lashing on the stay that holds the main beam forward failed and the beam swung aft. The huge side loads on the main foil then levered the hull to beam frame out of the heavy carbon forks which they attach to on the beam and allowed the main hull to rotate as if it was attached to an industrial lathe. The free inboard end of the beam then shot back towards the cockpit. It was all over in milliseconds…
I do recall jamming the control full aft as she began to roundup… but that was it and now I know why.
Poor VESTAS SAILROCKET has been extensively damaged in altogether new and creative ways. Never mind… we’ve been here before. We probably have the best boat building team we have had on site and now it’s their time to shine.
I have just spoken to Malcolm for the first time and he was noticably shaken. It’s normal for the designer to feel a heavy burden when they know someone has been dealt a hard blow by one of their creations. I assured him that as far as I know it was a small component failure (always is) and that we should push on until we have all the information needed to make an honest and sound decision.
The team have been great as have the locals. It’s such a pleasure to have good people around you when stuff like this goes down.
So there we are. Down but not out. We were just entering the mile course and were already hitting 47.4 knots without the main wing flap in. I wanted to bag two records in one. From the PI RESEARCH data we accelerated from 30-40 knots in 2 seconds even. But this isn’t a game of ‘nearlies’… we were obviously flatly denied and hence will have to try a bit harder.
It’s all very annoying but then I guess I have to be thankful too. It could always be worse. We are entering a punishing stage of the game as can be seen by the outcomes of two of our top-end attempts. You have to expect some rough play in an endeavour like this but you can’t just charge forward on bravado and witty remarks. It will be understanding and team work that push us forward. As long as the pieces add up then I will go on as determined as ever… this time with a bigger helmet!
I will, as always, let you all know exactly what we discover in the coming days… and how we plan to deal with it.
